Mr. Niall Cussen:

I thank the Deputy. It is nice to hear from Cork. My immediate point of concern in what the Deputy said is the unauthorised development. If he has evidence that a particular development in the waste management sector is taking place without planning permission and causing impacts on the community, that has to be dealt with in the strongest of terms by the planning authority. Waste management facilities, if not carefully managed, have the potential to have impacts. That will ultimately be a matter for Cork City Council.

I hear what the Deputy is saying about the issues around numerous developments in Cork and the north inner city area. These matters are, first and foremost, for Cork City Council. The Deputy is probably aware that Cork City Council has begun the process of renewing its city development plan. The Taoiseach and the Government unveiled a tremendous investment package for the city in the context of urban generation under Project Ireland 2040.

The metropolitan area transport strategy of the National Transport Authority is coming forward. While there may be issues about its reach into the north inner city, these are all matters to be teased out in the context of the city development plan. The good news is that there are unprecedented levels of resources being invested by the Government in the regeneration of those areas.

The Deputy, being familiar with Cork, will be well familiar with the historical imbalance in the strategic development of Cork, resulting in many social issues in some parts of the northside and a lot of growth, particularly along road corridors, on the southside. The Cork area strategic plan, CASP, process tried to address this previously when there were very few resources on the table. I genuinely believe the city development plan is the opportunity to try to tease out these issues, including that of density and the question of what is appropriate to a given location. In striking the balance on density, people will say we should have an approach involving very low density but, where this occurs, residents are moved increasingly far from the amenities and services, which can be accessed only by car. Some people might not have the means to have a car, or it might not suit them because of their age or another reason.

People also talk about the ten-minute or 15-minute city or town. That requires the striking of a balance and good design not necessarily in high-rise development in a particular location but in the reasonably effective and decent use of the land we have available. Once we build on land, it will be a long time before it is renewed. Any development will be in place for generations so we need to take our steps very carefully.